Authorities who raided the Pittsfield Township home of Bernie Klein were looking for evidence that he assisted other people in committing suicide, documents released Thursday indicate.

As the secretary for the Final Exit Network's Board of Directors, Klein was involved in speaking engagements, likely wrote a training manual and oversaw four regional case coordinators, a search warrant affidavit released to The News charges.

Bernie Klein

Among the items they were searching for was paperwork "on people Bernie Klein has assisted commit suicide or has assisted with the coordination of their hastened death," the affidavit states.

It's too early in the investigation to say whether any assisted suicides occurred in Michigan, authorities said. But the search warrant affidavit alleges Klein "has served in many roles in the organization, including as a person who personally assists in a suicide."

The documents detail an organized group of people who didn't have an office, but conferred by conference call and kept meticulous records as they assisted in at least 130 deaths.

Their activities became public Wednesday when teams of law enforcement officers - led by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation - raided homes and businesses in nine states, including Klein's house.

The network's president, medical director and two other members were charged Wednesday in the death of John Celmer, a 58-year-old Georgia man who suffered from cancer. They each face up to five years in prison if convicted on assisted suicide charges.

Klein's home was the only one in Michigan to be raided, and he was not arrested and has not been charged with a crime. A man who answered the phone at Klein's home Thursday evening hung up on a reporter.

The documents released Thursday do not say authorities have evidence Klein participated in any assisted suicides. But police searching the home got a judge's permission to seize computers and other evidence that could link him to assisted suicides.

Klein was listed as the board secretary, made a $700 donation to the group last July, received reimbursement checks from Final Exit Network for training materials, and last spoke on end of life issues for the group in New York in September, documents said.

Officials with the Livingston and Washtenaw Narcotics Enforcement Team, which assisted in Wednesday's search, referred comment to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Officials there did not return calls Thursday.

The group's activities came under scrutiny after Celmer's death by helium inhalation. Documents filed in the case say people interested in assisted suicide complete an application and pay a $50 membership fee. On the day of the suicide, the member receives a visit from the "exit guide" and a "senior exit guide" who instruct the member through the process, Georgia authorities said.

The documents also charge that the "guides" clean up the scene afterward, discard the evidence and make it appear the person died while sleeping. The affidavit describes a meticulous record-keeping system, and the searches appeared aimed at seizing those records.

On its Web site, the Final Exit Network says it never encourages people to hasten their death, but serves people suffering from intolerable conditions.

Members defended the Final Exit Network Thursday, saying they don't play an active role in a person's death, but rather support and guide those who decide to end their lives on their own.

"We're just there to help," said Jerry Dincin, vice president of the 3,000-member Final Exit Network, who was not among those arrested. "People insist upon it. They want to do what they want to do. They're suffering, and if they have intolerable pain, then they want to sometimes get out of that intolerable pain."

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Amalie Nash can be reached at anash@annarbornews.com or 734-994-6832.